Social Media Newsfeed: Google User Data | Sidewalk for People on Smartphones

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Google Report Shows Governments’ Increasing Demands for Users’ Data (The New York Times)

Governments of all sizes are demanding that Google hand over growing troves of data about its users, according to the Internet giant’s latest transparency report. The report is a tally of all the times a government has used its legal authority to demand that Google hand over internal data about the people who use Google products like Gmail, YouTube or its namesake search engine. The Guardian According to Google’s latest transparency report, in the first half of 2014, the number of government demands rose 15 percent compared to the second half of last year, and a 150 percent increase since Google first began publishing this data in 2009. In the U.S. those increases are 19 percent and 250 percent respectively. ZDNet “Ordinary” data requests include subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders, and do not include the top-secret and classified FISA warrants or National Security Letters (NSL). These shadowy government requests are so secret that companies are not allowed to disclose when they have received one. The Next Web One piece of legislation that Google believes will help curb the mass collection of data is the USA Freedom Act. It would prevent the bulk collection of user metadata and allow Google to be more transparent about requests for user information. Reuters President Barack Obama asked Congress in January to rein in the bulk collection and storage of records of millions of U.S. domestic telephone calls after revelations last year by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Many American technology companies also have been clamoring for changes after seeing their international business suffer as foreign governments worried they would collect data and hand it over to U.S. spy agencies.

This Sidewalk Has a Separate Lane for People on Smartphones (BetaBeat)

Pedestrians on Foreigner Street recently noticed the sidewalk was painted with white lines, dividing it in two: one lane for normal humans walking at normal human speeds, and the other for cyborgs people who insist on using their smartphones while they walk. The lanes will ideally help save regular walkers from smartphone users’ ultra-slow pace, as well as from collisions caused by smartphone users who aren’t looking where they’re going.

Multi-Study Analysis: Social Media Tools Aid in Weight Loss (SocialTimes)

Many Americans may be eating better, but we still have a long way to go in combating the obesity epidemic. According to a multi-study analysis published in the journal Health Affairs and reported by PBS NewsHour, social media might be the right place to start.

Content Marketers: It’s Time to Find a New Blogging Trend (The Next Web)

10 Ways to Create Better Content. The Top 3 Things That Will Drive Traffic to Your Site. Here’s one thing that makes me want to gag – the overuse of numbered list headlines.

Warning: iPhone 6 Scam Spreading on Facebook (AllFacebook)

That didn’t take long: Just days after Apple unveiled its upcoming iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Facebook scams promising free devices are already rearing their ugly heads. Hoax-Slayer reported on a scam that promises Facebook users free iPhone 6 devices after they complete three steps, but instead baits them into filling out surveys, spamming their friends and surrendering their personal information.

Spotify Fires Up on Amazon Fire TV (CNET)

Amazon’s streaming-media box, Fire TV, added support Monday for Spotify, the on-demand music service with more than 20 million songs and — at 10 million premium subscribers — more paying members than any of its rivals. According to a Spotify blog post, premium U.S. members can use and control Spotify on Amazon Fire TV with mobile phones or tablets as remotes through an offering called Spotify Connect.

The Seven Elements of an Optimized Twitter Profile [Infographic] (AllTwitter)

Twitter has revolutionized marketing for brands of all shapes and sizes across almost every industry around the globe – used intelligently, this deceptively simplistic microblogging platform can raise awareness of products and services, drive website footfall and generate leads. For best results, businesses should ensure that their Twitter profile is optimized and that they are following best practices to maximize return on investment (ROI).

Video Ads Come to Flipboard (Re/code)

Now appearing in the virtual pages of Flipboard magazines: Video ads. Not a surprise, since every digital platform is selling, or wants to sell, video ads.

Mixed Social Reactions to “The View” Premiere (LostRemote)

Monday morning, “The View” kicked off a new season, with a whole new lineup. Whoopie, Rosie O’Donnell, Rosie Perez and Nicole Wallace have taken over the coffee table, and fans were not really feeling it. Biggest complaints were about the new format.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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